Speak English, My Dear Students

Finding this sheet of paper, I collected my memories of all those times when I had my students talk to me in English...

Back then, juniors had to take a course "English Listening and Speaking." A requirement of mine for that course was that each student had to come to chat with me in English. Three minutes was counted as a unit. They had to earn 10 units to pass this course. Failing to meet the requirement, even if they got high scores on the tests, they would still get an F. They could do more than 10, which meant extra credits.

Now let me do some calculation. I had three classes almost every semester then, each having around 40 students on average. So, if every student did come to me  for a three-minute English conversation 10 times a semester, I needed 3,600 minutes per semester to complete this mission (3 x 10 x 120=3,600); that is, 60 hours, without counting extra units.

What sustained me through those years was my belief in "learning by doing." I wanted students to really find the power of English when they really got involved in real communication in English.